Ann Swinburne

Ann Swinburne Munroe (April 5, 1886 – November 17, 1973), born Ann Ditchburn in Eugene, Oregon, was an American singer, socialite, and later a director of the music publishing firm G. Schirmer, Inc. Her father, John Ditchburn, worked as a lawyer and judge, while her mother, Ada Ray Thatcher Ditchburn, was a dressmaker. She performed on Broadway under the name Ann Swinburne between 1910 and 1913.

Swinburne's entry into the New York theater world came through a chance encounter. As she recounted in an interview with the Sunday Oregonian, she had arrived in New York City by ship from Europe, accompanied by her aunt, and stopped for a few days with friends. At a reception held in her honor, she was asked to sing, and a guest who knew producer Joe Weber heard her perform and arranged an introduction. Weber cast her in the number two company of The Climax, which became her first Broadway credit in 1910.

Her subsequent Broadway appearances included Robin Hood in 1912 and The Count of Luxembourg that same year, in which she portrayed the character Angèle Didier. A reviewer of The Count of Luxembourg noted that Swinburne not only suited the role of Angèle visually but possessed a voice of excellent quality, which she employed with skill and discretion, while also acting with considerable ability. In 1913 she appeared in The Madcap Duchess, playing the role of Saraphina in the production featuring a score by Victor Herbert.

Swinburne also performed in concert settings during this period and wore gowns designed by Lady Duff-Gordon. She credited much of her career trajectory to good fortune, including an instance in which a bout of typhoid fever forced her to relinquish a leading part in the musical The Man from Cook's. When that production closed shortly after its New York premiere, she reflected in an interview that the illness had spared her the disappointments associated with the show's failure.

In her personal life, Ann Ditchburn married three times. Her first husband was Rudolph Edward Schirmer, whom she married in 1916; he died in 1919, leaving her a substantial estate. They had one son, Rudolph. She married her second husband, stockbroker John Philip Benkard, in 1921; he died in 1929, and they had a son, J. Philip Benkard. Her third marriage, to retired financier Charles Andrews Munroe, took place in 1949 in Monte Carlo. She relocated with him to the Bahamas in 1955, and he died there in 1957.

Following her marriage to Rudolph Schirmer, Swinburne became a director of G. Schirmer, Inc., serving in that capacity from 1919 to 1964. During her tenure she was a supporter of the early careers of composers Samuel Barber and Gian Carlo Menotti. She died on November 17, 1973, at a hospital in Nassau, at the age of 87.